Watertable, celebrating it’s 10th Anniversary this year as a destination restaurant under the culinary direction of original Executive Chef Manfred Lassahn, is the “signature restaurant located at Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa. Watertable celebrates the union of rustic and refined, old and new – in both design and cuisine. Watertable serves both Breakfast and Dinner.” The Bar has a separate Spanish-focused menu (think Acorn Fed Iberico) where guests can also order any of the menu items served in the Dining Room.
“The menu features seasonal, regional grill-centric American fare, paired with a distinguished selection of vintage world-class wines. Watertable’s beverage program also includes craft brews, hand-crafted artisanal cocktails, craft and naturally infused waters, in a unique nod to its name.”
“Chef Manfred’s inspiration stems from his family heritage as a first-generation American of German descent, valuing seasonality and preserving flavors year-round. He likes to incorporate innovative ideas while honoring timeless culinary essence. Chef Manfred embraces both new and resurfacing trends.”
“For the last decade The Team at Watertable has been committed to operating ethically and responsibly, striving to more positively impact their beach communities and the environment.”
Executive Chef Manfred takes another break from his busy kitchen to continue with us along with Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach’s General Manager, Jon Benson who was on Watertable’s opening team ten years ago as Food & Beverage Director and is now back from Hawaii as the property’s Hotel General Manager.
- Hi, I'm Carla Hall of ABC's The Chew. You're listening to The SoCal Restaurant Show on AM830KLAA. Pretty who? - And welcome back. It is hour two of The SoCal Restaurant Show. And happily, we're here with you every Saturday morning from 10 AM until 12 noon, right here on AM830KLAA, the home of Angels Baseball 2024. And you can also catch us on the Angels Radio AM830KLAA app. I'm Andy Harris, the executive producer and co-host of the show, kind of putting it all together. My colleague, Chef Andrew Grool of the Calico Fish House will be joining us a little later in the show with his usual Ask the Chef segment. And we're enthusiastically presented each and every week by Melissa's World Variety Produce and West Coast Prime Meats. We're journeying back down the coast to Huntington Beach. We're specifically talking about water table food and drink, which is the high-end destination restaurant, which is in the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach. Quite a beautiful property down there. And we are speaking with their hotel general manager, John Benson, who 10 years ago, was the food and beverage director there and helped create what became water table. And their longtime executive chef, who has won a lot of awards within the Hyatt organization, Chef Manfred Lassen. Gentlemen, welcome back. John, just briefly for a minute, we're gonna talk about the food at water table in just a moment. But give us some of the high points of the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach because it's a big property and you have a lot going on there. Yeah, listen, it's an amazing destination resort, really. It's 18 and a half acres. I think there was an incredible amount of foresight put into the design of this hotel. I remember when I first moved to California, it was a little nine-hole golf course here with a, I think, a small 20-room motel and to see this beautiful resort come out of the ground. And we have about 55,000 square feet of covered meeting space, convention center type space, on one end of the property. All of the resort focuses on the other end of the property, two pools, bars, restaurants that support those areas. And then in the middle is the hub of the food and beverage operation, the guest rooms, the arrival experience and all that kind of food court environment that surrounds the water table and Pete Mallory's. In addition, we have Tower 15, Pete Zeria. We have a surf city grocers that sells all kinds of grab-and-go food. And throughout the summer, for example, right now, we're activating those spaces every Friday and Saturday night. We have great concerts all through the summer, every weekend, Fridays and Saturdays. And it's just a wonderful way to come and experience a unique place right here in Southern California, not leave. We also have the beauty of this bridge that was able to be supported over the PCH. So we actually have a walkway right over to the sandy shores here without having to navigate off the property. You can do it right from our ground. So really an amazing place that we love seeing just continuing to grow as the decades roll by. We're in decade three right now, if you can believe that. - Now, because again, I stayed in a guest room, John, and I know all the telltale signs of a hotel room that has not been properly maintained. And you would not know your property is over 20 years old. So please keep up the good work. Now, we need to talk about food and that brings Chef Manfred back in the conversation. Manfred, let's talk about the bar food for a minute because as you sit at the bar, there is a very beautiful slicer that is right there. Tell us about some of the items that you produce at the bar that come from the slicer. And you know, you might start right out with the acorn fitted miracle ham. - Yeah, so that is a burkel slicer. And what you're talking about is the culinary corner. That is actually an extension of the bar. We activated also in the morning, but in the evening, the cook that is in that corner, cook or cook that are in that corner, they are actually hand slicing the Iberico and making charcutteries. You can choose from meats and cheeses to create your own. Comes with our signature sea salt rosemary roasted almond. That's a six hour slow road. We're also serving oysters. We change it around. We change it. We menu items around seasonally. Currently, we're also serving octopus, which we braised in the back with the corks from the restaurants, from the wine bottle. We have shishito peppers. We have a flatbread, all kinds of different types of bar food and bar snacks. - I stand out dish for me, Manfred, that I had, is their empanadas and their empanadas. Tell us about the potato and corn empanadas with the Moho Verde because that was particularly wonderful. - Well, good. I'm glad you look. Actually, that's our vegetarian option. Those are, that's fresh corn, diced potatoes, and then the Moho Verde, and those are all made in house. It definitely shows, and I know that all of your salsas you make in house, and that's quite an extra effort to do all of that. - Well, it's important. It's really important that we use the highest quality ingredients, the freshest ingredient, and these things are made almost daily. - Let's talk about the bigger menu that is in the main dining room. A salad that I really enjoyed when I dined with you was the beet and apple salad. Tell us a little bit about the ingredients in that, Chef Manfred, if you would. The beet and apple salad, that was on the spring menu. So we've gone past that one now, but that was fresh roasted beet, so the beets are actually seasoned, olive oil, wrapped in foil, and then roasted in the oven, then peeled and diced. The apples are freshly sliced, and then it has a nice pear champagne vinaigrette with it. - Really tasty. Let's move on to the entree side, and the interesting thing about the entrees is, is that you also have your choice of adding one, a very wide choice of extra vegetables. Is the seared duck breast still on the menu? - No, it's not. We just, for the 10th anniversary, what we ended up doing was, we went back and we looked at all the menu abstracts and the history of what's sold, and the new anniversary menu for this year, were all the favorites. From sea bass to brand zenome, to the cauliflower steak to the New York, and even the agro quocha. - I will say about this, Andy. I had the duck breast, too. I'm a big fan with you on that. It was a wonderful dish. And I think this is the beauty of what happens in that restaurant is there is a thread of consistent items that are our guest favorites that kind of don't go away. There is a lot of effort in the culinary team to create that seasonal rotation. And largely due to our repeat clientele, we really want to make sure that we're constantly staying relevant and reinventing, and give that guest the experience that they're looking for, but also know that they can come and experience different cuisine throughout the year. - Well said. Chef Manford, in terms of your current menu, what is a standout seafood dish that you have on the menu right now, because you are at the ocean? - We are at the ocean. And the Chilean Sea that is, by far, the most popular fish item that we have. We have the three, we have the right now, and we have the brand, you know, which is equally as popular. People are really happy that it's back on the menu. But the Chilean Sea bass is served with a chopped mashed potatoes, the grilled, marinated squash, miterum garlic, saffrona ollie, and a white wine butter sauce. Really, really a big hit. - Definitely jazzes it up. Now, for our vegetarian friends out there, I know you have a vegetarian entree that is on the current menu. If you could tell us about that, it would be great. - Absolutely, that's the cauliflower steak. That's served with a fava bean puree, cauliflower puree, chili garlic oil, and a spinach powder. - Wow. Now, Manford, you know, you can't end your experience at the water table without having an outrageous dessert. So give us a suggestion if you might. - Hello, I was a pastry chef before I became a savory chef. And every hotel that I've worked in, I've been with the Hyatt now for 41 years. And every hotel that I've worked in, I've always cleared as a signature dessert. And in water table, it's called the six degrees of chocolate, which is a layered square of four different types of chocolate. Served with a chocolate canal and a coconut twill. And Chef Manford definitely properly decadent. Ladies and gentlemen, it is the 10th anniversary of the water table, which is at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach. Happens to be a destination restaurant that just happens to be in a hotel. They were thoughtful enough that there is actually even a separate entrance into water table. So you value your car and you can walk right into the restaurant. You don't have to walk through the lobby down a dozen corridors, turn right, turn left and find it. Again, very thoughtful. And very much a part of the community, as I saw the night I was there for the 10th anniversary celebration. I'm not bashful. I talk to a lot of guests who are locals and a lot of rave reviews, particularly for Chef Manford. And everybody seems to remember John too, and is very happy to have him back. So gentlemen, thank you and 10 more years of success at least. You are listening to the SoCal restaurant show. When we return, it's our favorite orange county food correspondent, that being Anne-Marie Panarringen, who is the food writer for cultureOC.org. You are listening to the SoCal restaurant show. We're proudly presented by Melissa's World Variety Produce and West Coast Prime Mates. We'll be back in a quick minute.
